


Route 66

by KJMellow



Category: Original Work
Genre: Creepy, Gen, Mystery, Road Trips, Supernatural Elements, Swearing, Weird Plot Shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:54:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23611111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KJMellow/pseuds/KJMellow
Summary: When Jake and Laura went on a road trip, they couldn't imagine what they were going to face on the way...
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever work in English so hopefully the grammar is fine. I hope you enjoy it and I'll try to update it as often as I can!

It was around midnight when it happened. Dark highway stretched along, lost in the pitch blackness of the night. Street lights were shining brightly, doing their best to illuminate the road ahead of them, but failing desperately. The sky was inky black, but if you pulled up at the side of the road and got out and squinted and covered your eyes from the blinding artificial light of the lamps, you could see the stars filling up the sky. On the both sides there were vast wheat fields plunged into the darkness. Or maybe it was some other sort of tall agricultural plant. Or maybe it was just very tall grass. Nobody could tell, as the shape of the fields was barely visible: you knew there had to be something on both sides of the road and could see vague outline of it, waiting for the human civilization to collapse so it could finally swallow the road. Frankly speaking, there was nobody who cared about the fields although maybe they should have, maybe if they had paid a little bit more attention to it, to the nature that surrounded them, to the nature as a whole, things would have been different...  
A single lone car was driving down the dark deserted highway. It was an old and shabby pick-up van, a Ford probably in use for way longer than it should've been. It looked like it used to be white at some early stage of its life, but now it was covered in such a thick layer of permanent dirt that it looked almost spray-painted. There was a man driving it. He was in his late twenties, pale-skinned and obviously on his first ever road-trip. He looked like a person who had no idea what he was doing or how this was supposed to work, but was confident he'd figure something out. He was relaxed, maybe just a little bit too much, and didn't wear a seat belt. He was also smoking. His name was Jake. He was a disaster waiting to happen. On the seat next to him was a woman. Her name was Laura. She bore a somewhat uncanny resemblance to the man, but in her own womanly way. As a matter of fact, she was his sister. She looked like someone who was relying on the other person and therefore seemed to believe he knew all the ins and outs of road trips, which at some point would most likely be a problem. She was wearing a seat belt and wasn't smoking. She was also looking out of the window at the hypnotizing lights passing by, desperately trying to keep herself from falling asleep after the long day's drive. The radio was playing some quiet relaxing music, as if the universe was specifically trying to put these two to sleep. Far away in the distance there were two lights growing closer and closer as some other car was coming towards them, yet another lonely traveler in this dark summer night.  
Everything was calm and quiet. The road was long and straight for miles and miles and it looked like nothing could possibly happen. Then suddenly, the Ford's headlights illuminated a dark figure right on the car's way. It was a deer, just standing there silently, looking at the approaching doom with its big black eyes with not a single grain of comprehension in them.  
"Shit!" the man shouted, turning the wheel abruptly, sending the car circling across the road. Then there was more light as the other car -- which turned out to be a huge delivery van -- leveled with them on the other lane they were just crossing, unable to stop the spinning car. Jake screwed up his eyes, blinded for a moment with these huge terrible lights. Laura shrieked and closed her eyes in horror.  
It was hard to tell just how many circles the car had made when it finally came to a halt in the sand that surrounded the highway for miles and miles on both sides. Obvious was that they had been tossed from the road and by some miracle were not hit by a huge truck. And neither did they hit that poor deer, which was also a good thing, probably. Not something good enough to lose their lives for and go to heaven. Just a moderately good thing.  
"Where the fuck did that bastard come from?" exclaimed the man, not quite clear if he was referring to the deer or to the truck. He was breathing heavily and his nose was bleeding because in all this mess he hit it upon something. The woman, however, seemed unharmed in her seat belt. She winced a little, when she heard the stream of swearing, but otherwise she was merely mildly annoyed and heavily scared. On the bright side, neither of them felt like sleeping anymore. In fact, at that very moment they felt like they were not going to sleep ever again. Whatever good did sleeping do? Just a waste of time and the source of most troubles people face.  
"Well I told you we should stop and have a rest, didn't I?" Laura noted, crossing her arms. She was, of course, greatly relieved that they were both seemingly unharmed safe for their wrecked nerves, but to stop herself from thinking what could've happened if the deer had been just a bit farther or if they had been driving faster or if they had been driving slower she decided to snap at the driver. Rightfully so.  
"Oh shut up," he grunted, starting the vehicle again. He took some pains to get the car back on the road. The sand was tenacious and it felt like it didn't want to let the car go. Crawling inch by inch accompanied by the highly encouraging swearing of the driver the car pulled through somehow and got back on the road. There was no sight of the deer nor the truck. Not a single light was there on the road. Also now it seemed as though the lights had gone dimmer and a bit more uneven. Some of them were even blinking from time to time, so you were almost expecting to see a ghostly shape from a horror movie as you were passing by.  
"Which way were we going?" the woman asked, clearly very disoriented. They had spun around so much they were lucky neither of them got car sick.  
"That way," replied the man confidently, even though he too suddenly had no idea where they were going. They didn't have a navigator either as they were supposed to be driving straight down the highway and supposedly it was impossible to get lost. Jake turned the radio back on, but there was no more music, just some eerie white noise and something which sounded almost like distant whispering distorted by the wind. He tried fiddling with it but it did no good nor bad, just nothing, so he gave up and turned it off and started driving in silence. Laura stared into the window again out at the dark landscape. She had an odd feeling that something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it. They were surrounded by the desert. The road went straight ahead through it. The lights were uneven and blinking from time to time. The sky was pitch black. Not a single sign of any stars. Everything seemed normal except it wasn't, but whatever was bugging her she couldn't understand. So she decided to just let it go and get sorted out on its own. It usually worked, why wouldn't it now?


	2. The Dog

And so on and on they drove through the deep dark night along the seemingly endless highway. The desert was absolutely everywhere around them, immovable, steady, frozen in place, almost as dark as the black band of road stretching across it under the black starless sky, and if it weren't for the dim lights passing by, Laura would have thought they weren't moving at all. It still felt as though they were the ones standing in place, and the lights were skidding past them on an invisible conveyor belt going on an impossible speed.   
Then something caught her attention. It was something different. Ahead of them, approaching quickly, was a bright steady single street light. And just next to it was a bus stop.  
Laura meditated for a moment on what a bus stop was doing there. As far as she could see, there were no cities or towns or villages or at least single houses anywhere for miles and miles behind them. And it didn't look like there were any within the eyesight distance ahead of them. There was only the desert, vast, sandy and rather cool at night. So what would a bus stop be doing there, in the middle of nowhere?  
Then there was something else that caught her eye as they were passing the bus stop. There was a dog sitting there all alone. She barely caught a glimpse of it, as the car was driving fast. But there definitely was something sitting in that bright street light, the brightest on this part of the road, at the bus stop. It could have been a cat, though. Or something else. But it looked like a small dog to her.  
"Stop the car!" she commanded. "There is a dog at the bus stop, we can't leave it there."  
Jake stopped the car without a word. This was a noble thing to do. They really couldn't just leave a pet in the middle of the desert. Laura unbuckled her seat belt and opened the car door.  
"It's... Uh... Gone..." she said uncertainly, looking back at where they've just come from. The lights were uneven and dim, blinking every now and again, not a sight of that bright light. Not a sign of the bus stop. Not a sign of any dogs or cats or any other things, living or not. She closed the door with a concerned look on her face and looked at her brother. There was little light, but still she could make out the expression of mild disbelief and puzzlement on his face. He must have seen the bus stop too. It was hard to miss.  
"Well... I suppose we should just go on," he said, starting the car again.   
They drove in silence for a couple of minutes, when they saw a bright light ahead of them again. Laura didn't even need to say anything this time. Jake stopped the car just a few feet away. They both got out.   
The bus stop had absolutely no signs on it. No timetables, no posters, no ads, not even the name of the stop. And it was there. The dog. It was sitting still in the light, looking at the two approaching travellers, wriggling its short tail slightly. It was a small pug puppy, chubby and big-eyed. It was hard to imagine how someone could just get rid of it.   
"How is this possible?" mumbled Jake, putting his hand against the concrete wall of the bus stop, half-expecting it to go through. It didn't.   
"Oh aren't you a cute little boy!" exclaimed Laura, squatting down next to the dog. She was speaking in a way people ever spoke to either small children or adorable little pets, neither of whom could understand the words. "How did you get here?"   
"I dunno," the dog answered, even though it was clearly not supposed to. Laura stared at the dog, trying to figure out if her ears deceived her. It could've been just some sort of doggy groan, but it sounded too distinctly to be mixed up. Jake looked down at the dog, perplexed by its sudden undogly eloquence.  
"Soooo... Are we going to, like, get going or something? My butt is cold from sitting on the ground," the dog complained. Laura found strength to take her eyes off it and looked up at her brother. He shrugged. He was rarely at a loss, but this was definitely an extraordinary occasion in every possible way.  
"I have heard the rumors about some weird shit on this roads... But a god damned talking dog..."  
"Yeah, yeah, I get that a lot. I mean... Uh... It's not like I've seen too many people, but anyway... I'm just a trainee here, actua--" the dog broke off for a second and glanced at both people in front of him. They both were staring at him with faces of people who had no idea whatever he was talking about and were desperately failing to process that.  
"Trainee... In... Life, I mean! Aren't we all, huh? Always searching for our calling, trying to choose our own path, yet always looking up to those who are older or smarter or more experienced than us, right?" the dog gave a short laugh. It was eerie that he had an absolutely normal human voice, like some animal in a cartoon where the creators didn't bother to add some effects to make it sound more like the way a dog might talk.   
"Riiiiight..." both humans said, still not quite certain what the dog was on about.   
"Oh, name's the Dog, by the way. Rude of me to go into your car unintoduced. Right? That's what we're doing? Going into your car?"  
"Er, right, that," said Jake as they headed back to the car. Laura opened the back door for the Dog to get in. He hopped inside with much more grace than could be anticipated looking at his chubby little body and made himself comfortable in the back seat among some bags.  
"I'm Laura, by the way. And this is Jake. Nice to meet you, I guess."  
When everyone got into the car, Jake started it and they drove off again as his sister buckled up. She believed in safety. She turned around to see if the bus stop was still there. It wasn't.  
They were driving in an odd silence for a bit. The driver kept casting uneasy glances on their unusual new companion through the rear-view mirror. Laura seemed to be looking out of the window again, but she, in fact, was lost in thought. If it wasn't for her wide open eyes you could think she was asleep. Since she wasn't even blinking, though, you'd most likely think she was dead, and Jake might have been bothered if he weren't so focused on the road and giving a fair share of glances to the back-seat passenger.   
"The Dog, huh? Maybe we should give you a real name? How about... Kevin?" she said all of a sudden, blinking herself out of her reverie and turning around as far as the seat belt allowed to face the talking animal.   
"Oh, no, the Dog is fine. I never remember all those names people give me."  
"So... How many owners exactly did you have?" Jake said, jumping into the conversation grumpily. There was a moment of silence, not too long, but noticeable, as though the Dog was either counting or regretting saying too much.   
"Not many, nah. You know how it is. People love giving tons of sweet little names to their pets, and then you can't make heads or tales of it! Is "sweet little doughnut" a dog's name, a cat's or a kid's? Who knows! Anyway, just call me the Dog. It's easier this way."  
However weird and devoid of any personality and creativity it was, no one could argue that it was, indeed, easy to remember, so the subject was dropped. Jake tried the radio again and then remembered there was nothing but the white noise. He was so used to driving to some music that the heavily packed with bags, people and fantastic beasts car almost felt empty without it. But in his opinion random static sounds were the most excruciating torture a human ear could be put to, right after the sounds of a fork against a plate and a piece of chalk against a blackboard, so it was best to leave it be. He was starting to mildly wonder what else could break in that old car they were driving. He made a note to himself to never buy a used car. And to get rid of this one as soon as they get back home from the road trip.  
As they drove along the straight like a catwalk black road, the sky was starting to lighten up. This strange night was soon to be over. They were hoping that with it the weirdness would also end, but they couldn't imagine that it was merely the beginning of a long and rather extraordinary journey.


	3. The Gas Station

The night turned into day oddly quickly. There were no visible signs of the sun anywhere, and the sky was plain dull gray as if either made of steel or covered with the clouds so evenly thick they were barely noticeable. As they were no longer necessary, the street lights went out. The black straight band of road they were driving was visible up until the very horizon, and so was the vast desert surrounding them, although it was somewhat dim and so it was a bit hard to tell if there was anything else up ahead, like a town or a gas station or at least another car.  
Driving in silence was rather boring. When they went on this trip they had high hopes for the radio, but of course it had to be one of the first things to break in this rusty bucket. They could, of course, talk to each other. But when you're siblings who lived their whole lives together, it sometimes gets pretty hard to come up with discussion topics. It just felt like they've talked out everything there was a hundred times. There was only one topic left and everyone knew it, yet nobody was eager to discuss it, because that would mean admitting that something was wrong. Also talking about someone behind their backs was bad enough and doing that in their presence was even worse. And besides, the talking dog sitting in the backseat somehow gathered all the awkwardness he could get his paws on and amplified it, so that it was almost solid and filling the whole car and leaving no space for air and suffocating. It sure was a terrible silence.  
"So, uh... A talking dog, huh?" said Jake at last, not really addressing anyone yet hoping that someone would keep up the conversation.  
"Yeah," Laura said under her breath and so the subjest was mercilessly dropped. Then they were silent for a little while until Jake glanced at the fuel indicator and knit his brows thoughtfully.  
"I think we should get some gas."  
"Are we empty?"  
"No, but I think this dial's broken. I'm pretty sure it was the same last time I checked and it was... Well, a while ago."  
"Then let's hope there's a gas station somewhere nearby."  
And so hope they did, and sure enough, as if their hopes suddenly condensed and gained form, they saw a gas station, which was so inconspicuous you could think you were in a movie which tried hard not to attract any unnecessary attention to certain brands and makers of things, and so they forgot the name of the gas station as soon as they drove in and couldn't see the sign anymore.  
Stopping at a gas station was a good idea for two more reasons. Firstly, they could stretch their legs. They were almost starting to feel like they were part of their seats now and would never be able to stand up again, but walking was refreshing enough to relieve them of this peculiar sensation. And another thing they could get at a gas station were snacks. Although a very brief discussion proved that neither of them was hungry even though the sun apparently got up some time ago, even if they couldn't really see it, and it was definitely way past their breakfast time. Still, they didn't know how long it would be before they come across another shop, so it was decided that they should buy something just in case of sudden fit of gluttony. And thus, while Laura stayed outside watching the car refuel – as it was apparently doing – Jake headed into the shop. The Dog followed him to his mild irritation. There were no signs forbidding any pets to enter, so he couldn't really object.  
Inside was rather empty, thich was the least surprising thing in the last twelve hours or so, as they were in the middle of nowhere and there even weren't any cars on the road. In fact, Jake was wondering as to what the gas station was even doing here. There were no visible towns nearby. How was it even still making any profit whatsoever? He also started wondering if it was safe to buy things here. Who knows how long they've been lying here, but then they didn't want anything with short shelf life. According to certain movies, chips were almost forever lasting.  
The shop was very small and it was easy to find things you needed. It also seemed to have exactly the stuff they wanted, which was very convenient, so Jake picked things he always got in a shop when they were having a cozy movie night at home. Another strange thing was that he couldn't see any price tags, but he knew how much it all usually cost anyway, so it didn't worry him either. In fact, nothing seemed to bother him much at that moment.  
At the cash register there stood a man in a t-shirt with a very unremarkable logo of the gas station. He was exactly the sort of guy you'd expect in a place like that. You could see depression and despair written all over his face. It was a face of the boy your parents warn you'd become if you don't do something about your life, study hard and get a good job. Also his look was absolutely blank.  
"Did you get anything for me?" asked the Dog, looking up to see what Jake was holding.  
"Hush, don't talk in front of people!" hissed Jake, putting his stuff on the counter.  
"Uh yeah about that, I don't think he can hear anything anyway, so don't you hush me."  
Jake looked at the cashier and apparently the Dog was right. He just stood there, immovable, with his blank stare unfocused somewhere between chips and bottles of drinks. And apparently he had no idea somebody even was there with him in the shop. Jake waved his hand in front of the man's face. The man didn't even blink or move any muscle. As a cashier he was pretty useless. Jake scratched his cheek and decided to just leave some money on the counter. He knew how much his stuff should cost anyway. He bought this exact set of things all the time. So he counted the bills, left some on the counter, took his things and left, keeping an eye on the cashier to see if he moves. He didn't. Jake thought that maybe it was some form of entertainment. Maybe there was a sacond cashier hiding somewhere and they made a bet that he could just stand there like that or something. Yes, sure, that would be the most reasonable explanation.  
Laura got into the car when she saw him. He opened the back door to the Dog and also threw the food he got there, and then looked around for a moment before getting in himself.  
They drove away back onto the highway. Soon enough the gas station was no longer visible like it never was there. The dial indicating the amount of gasoline they had still was showing the same number as before. Jake had no idea what the hell could happen to a dial, but evidently it did. But he didn't have much time to wonder about anything, as suddenly they felt mild vibration. It was getting more and more persistent and soon they started hearing low noise which sounded like some very loud sound from very far away. Then they saw a glowing spot in the distance, growing closer and closer as they were moving towards each other. Soon they could see what it was and they positively couldn't believe their eyes.  
There was a car coming at them. It had no top and it was ablaze. It was hard to tell if there was any driver or passengers or how the hell it was even moving. But the car was screaming. The scream was continuous, uninterrupted, monotonous, like that of a motorbike, but hysterical and definitely human. It was as if someone had recorded the most bloodcurdling scream from a horror movie, put it on perfect loop and was playing for their own enjoyment at enough volume to make anyone's ears atart bleeding. They could hear it loud and clear even though their windows were up. The car itself was trembling ever so slightly with the vibrations of this horrific sound, making their bones feel like they were trying to shake off the burden of flesh.  
The car passed by and it became quiet, which now sounded eerie after so much loud noise. It suddenly felt like silence was wrong. There should be unreasonable amount of noise filling the air until there's no room for air itself. Maybe they too should start screaming?  
"What the fuck was that," said Jake instead, not even inquiring, as it was obvious that his sister wouldn't have the answer. Laura shrugged her shoulders, probably not wincing at the sound of somebody's swearing for the first time in her life.


End file.
